Ruh-ul-Qudus, Ruach Ha-kodesh and Holy Spirit in Islam, Judaism and Christianity
By S.
Arshad, New Age Islam
22 June
2021
The
Supreme Being Is Present In All His Creations In The Form Of Spirit Or Life
Force
Main
Points:
1. The Spirit of God is present in all beings
2. Ruh also means revelation or God's decree
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Man has
tried to understand the reality of the soul or spirit but a true realisation of
Ruh (Spirit) has always evaded him. Though man knows that Ruh or spirit is the
life force that drives man, the true nature of Ruh is still out of the grasp of
his knowledge. It is a mystery of the power of God and He has not given the
full knowledge of Spirit to man.
The word
Ruh or Spirit has been mentioned not only in the Quran but also in the Hebrew
Bible and the New Testament. In the Quran, the word Ruh has been mentioned
twenty one times in twenty verses. Out of those twenty times, the word
Ruh-ul-Qudus has appeared four times, Ruh-ul-Amin once and only Ruh ( Spirit)
sixteen times.
To
understand the meaning of the word Ruh, let's analyse all the verses one by
one.
Following
are three verses from the Quran in which Ruh-ul-Qudus (Holy Spirit) is
mentioned.
And We
gave clear signs to Isa bin Maryam and supported him with (Ruh-ul-Qudus) Holy
Spirit."(Al
Baqarah:87)
"Abd
We gave clear signs to Isa the son of Maryam and supported him with Holy Spirit
(Ruh-ul-Qudus)"(Al
Baqarah: 253)
"When
Allah will say, O Jesus son of Mary, remember my favour upon you and your
mother when I supported you with the Holy Spirit (Ruh-ul-Qudus)."(Al Maida: 110)
According
to exegetes and Islamic scholars, here Ruh-ul-Qudus refers to archangel Gibril.
But according to other verses, Gibril a.s. is also an incarnation of God's
Spirit. For example, the following verse;
So she
(Maryam) took to herself a curtain apart from them, then We sent to her Our
Spirit (Ruh) ; so he took for himself the likeness of a man in perfect shape."(Maryam:
17)
Here God
sends His Spirit to Hadhrat Maryam a.s. and it assumes the form of a human
being. According to a hadith, once Hadhrat Jibril a.s. was sitting with the
holy Prophet pbuh in the form of a man.
"When
I proportion him perfect and blew in him My spirit (Ruh) you must fall down
before him in prostration."(Al Hijr: 29)
In the
above quoted verse, the Ruh in a human being is only a part of the Spirit of
God.
The Masih
Isa the son of Maryam is only a messenger of Allah and His word that He had
delivered to Maryam and a spirit (Ruh) from Him."(Al Nisa: 171)
"Say,
this has been brought down by Ruh-ul-Qudus (Holy Spirit) from your Lord rightly
so that it may bring firmness to the believers and become guidance and good
news for the Muslims".(An
Nahl:102)
In tge
above-quoted verse, angel Jibril is referred as Ruh-ul-Qudus who brought
revelation to the Prophet Pbuh.
In some of
the verses, the word Ruh (spirit) also means Wahi (revelation).
"He
sends down the angels with the spirit (Ruh) upon whom He wills among His
servants."(An
Nahl: 2)
"To
whom ascend the angels and the Spirit (Ruh) on a day the length of which is
fifty thousand years.(Al Ma'arij:4)
Here the
Day of Judgment is referred. The length of the Day of Judgment will be fifty
thousand years. On that day angels and the Spirit that had given life to all
the creations on earth will ascend as a whole.
"And
they ask you about the Spirit, (Ruh) say, the Spirit (Ruh) is of the command of
my Lord's domain."(Al Isra: 85)
In the
above-quoted verse, God clearly says that He has not given the full knowledge
of Ruh to man.
"And
(remember) her who guarded her chastity, so we blew in her through our Spirit (
Ruh) and made her and her son a sign for all the world."(Al Anbya: 91)
"Ruh-ul-Amin
(trustworthy spirit) has brought this (revelation)"(26:193)
In the
above-quoted verse, Hadhrat Jibril a.s. is referred to as Ruh-ul-Amin who
brought revelations to the prophet pbuh.
"Then
He proportioned him and blew in him from His Spirit (Ruh) and gave him hearing
and vision and hearts; you express gratitude very little."(As Sajda: 9)
This verse
reaffirms the fact that the soul of man is only a part of God's spirit.
"So
when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of my Spirit ( Ruh) , then
fall down to him in prostration.(Sad:72)
"He is
high in stations, the Lord of the Throne. He sends the Spirit (Ruh) down under
His command on whomever He wills from among His servants so that he warns of
the Day of Encounter."(Ghafir: 15)
Again,
revelation is said to be God's spirit in the verse. The following verse also
has the same meaning of the word Ruh.
"And
this We have revealed to you a Spirit (Ruh) by Our command. You did not know
what is the Book or faith but We have made it a light by which We guide whom We
will of our servants." (As Shura: 52)
"(As
for) those (believers) He has written belief in their hearts and He has aided
Him with a spirit (Ruh) from Himself."(Al Mujadila: 22)
"And
Mary the daughter of Imran who guarded her chastity and we breathed into (her
body) of our spirit (Ruh) and she testified to the truth of the words of her
Lord and His scriptures and was of the obedient. "(At Tahrim: 12)
"To
Him the angels and the spirit (Ruh) ascend on a day the length of which fifty
thousand years."(Al Ma'arij:4)
"On
the day when the Spirit (Ruh) and the angels rise up in ranks they will not
speak except him whom the All-Merciful has given permission and who speaks
right."(Al
Naba:38)
"The
angels and the spirit (Ruh) descend therein by permission of their Lord for
every matter."(Al
Qadr: 4)
In the above
mentiioned verse, the word Ruh means God's decree for human beings for the next
year.
From the
verses quoted above it becomes clear that Ruh is God's spirit that is immanent
in all the creations. God breathes into all the beings including human beings.
That's why God says that He is closer to man than his jugular vein and that God
dwells in his devotees' hearts. To the prophets, God bestows special powers and
insight through his archangel Jibril a.s.
When we
look at the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament, we find the concept of Holy
Spirit and Ruh-ul-Qudus there as well. In Hebrew Bible, we find Ruach
Ha-kodesh (Ruh-ul-Qudus) or Ruach Elohim (Ruhullah). That is, God in the
form of Ruh or Spirit that is present in all His creations. In Christianity
too, the concept of Holy Spirit is present as the Supreme power or life force
that drives the universe. According to Christian theology, Holy Spirit is God
who is also present in Jesus Christ. According to Judaism, the most
characteristic sign of the presence of Ruach Ha-kodesh (Ruh-ul-Qudus) is
the gift of prophecy. This echoes the verses of the Quran where spirit means revelation
or Ruh-ul-Qudus Jibril a.s. who brings revelations to the prophets.
Therefore,
Ruh-ul-Qudus, Ruach Ha-kodesh and Holy Spirit in Islam, Judaism and
Christianity respectively point to the same concept about God that the Supreme
Being is present in all His creations in the form of spirit or life force.
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Sohail
Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism